(Washington) -- Senator George J. Mitchell, special envoy for the Middle East, delivered the 2010 United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Dean Acheson Lecture, on Monday, May 24 in front of a packed audience. Senator Mitchell was introduced by Richard H. Solomon, president of USIP and by Michael A. Dignam, president for Readiness & Stability Operations at Lockheed Martin Corporation, which sponsored the event. Closing remarks were made by Robin West, chairman of USIP's board.

Senator Mitchell's talk was preceded by a video of his peacemaking efforts in Northern Ireland -- part of the forthcoming exhibit of "Witnesses to War and Peacebuilding" to be featured in the Institute's new Global Peacebuilding Center in the new headquarters.

Senator Mitchell spoke about lessons learned from Northern Ireland and how, despite the vast differences between that conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, certain truths about international conflict still hold:

Human history is in large part a story of conflict; the subject is not new;

Conflicts are created by human beings and human beings can solve them;

There is no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended;

Peacemaking requires patience and perseverance and hope;

There must be compromises and a genuine willingness to make peace.

Senator Mitchell said that in the case of Northern Ireland, having a deadline was important. "I was convinced that the absence of a deadline guaranteed its failure."

While cautioning that every conflict is unique and that no two conflicts are the same, Mitchell made the case for continued U.S. involvement in the peace process in the Middle East that the U.S. would be an active partner "every step of the way."

Taking a page from former President George W. Bush, Mitchell outlined a U.S. position that recognized a two state solution with a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel has a homeland for the Jewish people. He articulated the need for secure, recognized and defensible borders for Israel and a viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent state for the Palestinians. He expressed support for both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Abbas, and re-stating the importance of reconciliation along the 1967 borders with agreed upon swaps of territory. He said that both leaders were capable of delivering peace if there is bold action and compromise and flexibility. "There is no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended."

The National Defense Strategy Commission (NDSC), a congressionally mandated panel charged with examining and making recommendations with respect to the national defense strategy for the United States and whose work has been facilitated by the United States Institute of Peace, released its final report on November 14, 2018.

USIP has chosen Ryan Adams of Chelsea High School in Chelsea, AL; Casandra Bates of Centennial High School in Franklin, TN; JoAnne Bohl of West Central High School in Hartford, SD; and Jennifer O'Boyle of Klahowya Secondary School in Silverdale, WA, to participate in the 2018 Peace Teachers Program. Over the course of the next school year, they will receive training, resources, and support to strengthen their teaching of international conflict management and peacebuilding.

On May 29, 2018 the United States Institute of Peace convened the first meeting of a congressionally-mandated, bipartisan task force of leading defense, diplomacy and development experts to prevent terrorist threats from emerging in fragile states following the defeat of the Islamic State.

At a time when violent international conflict is spawning humanitarian crises around the world, four high school teachers in Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma and Florida have been selected to take part in a U.S. Institute of Peace program to help their students gain the knowledge, skills and perspectives they need to work toward a more peaceful world.